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Hizma, Qalandiya, Wed 12.12.12, Afternoon
Observers: Avital F., Yael J. (reporting)
The weather was cold and rainy.
We decided to go to Qualandiya, where we had not been since a long time.
In order to park we took the road to Ramallah, making a right turn to a huge parking lot full of cars and found a space for us.
As we were walking to the checkpoint for pedestrians we noticed some changes. The checkpoint was named now "Atarot Checkpoint". The waiting hall was almost empty. Only one row of chairs was left (3 PM). Nobody sat on them.
In one corner of the hall a man was boiling something hot. After he had seen my tag, he was praising our courage and offered some of his hot food (which I did not accept, because I did not know what it was).
After we had tried a number of narrow paths between iron bars, we decided that I should cross the checkpoint in the direction of West Jerusalem while A. would observe what was going on in the hall. He did not accompany me.
This was not my day.
Firstly I chose the wrong line. I stood and stood, and when it was almost my turn the soldiers closed the counter. I had to move to another one. Together with two friendly Palestinian women we were again at the end of the queue. While slowly getting closer to the security team behind turnstiles, X-rays and soldiers behind thick glas, I was rummaging in my handbag in order to find my wallet with my ID. When I did not find it, I feared that I could have lost the whole wallet with all kinds of identity cards. This was not the case. Later I found it at home in the pocket of another coat.
Perhaps I should try passing with my European passport which I felt in my coat pocket? Perhaps they would let me through , an older woman like me with a stick?
However they did not. The male soldier looked in my passport for a visa, and found none. Now I believed I had to tell them the truth, that I was Israeli, on duty for Machsom Watch. They looked as if they had never heard of this organization.
"Your ID-number" the male soldier demanded. Freezing and nervous I did not know. So they sent me back. While this kind of dialogue with the security happened, the waiting Palestinians did not complain, kept silent. I apologized that I had taken their time.
We drove home via Hizmah. No control for us at the entrance to West Jerusalem.
Hizma
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Hizma
A checkpoint at the north-eastern entrance to the Jerusalem area which was annexed in 1967, at Pisgat Zeev. The passage is allowed to bearers of blue IDs only. Open 24 hours a day.
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Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
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Click here to watch a video from Qalandiya checkpoint up to mid 2019 Three kilometers south of Ramallah, in the heart of Palestinian population. Integrates into "Jerusalem Envelope" as part of Wall that separates between northern suburbs that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967: Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya, and the villages of Ar-Ram and Bir Nabala, also north of Jerusalem, and the city itself. Some residents of Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya have Jerusalem ID cards. A terminal operated by Israel Police has functioned since early 2006. As of August 2006, northbound pedestrians are not checked. Southbound Palestinians must carry Jerusalem IDs; holders of Palestinian Authority IDs cannot pass without special permits. Vehicular traffic from Ramallah to other West Bank areas runs to the north of Qalandiya. In February 2019, the new facility of the checkpoint was inaugurated aiming to make it like a "border crossing". The bars and barbed wire fences were replaced with walls of perforated metal panels. The check is now performed at multiple stations for face recognition and the transfer of an e-card. The rate of passage has improved and its density has generally decreased, but lack of manpower and malfunctions cause periods of stress. The development and paving of the roads has not yet been completed, the traffic of cars and pedestrians is dangerous, and t the entire vicinity of the checkpoint is filthy. In 2020 a huge pedestrian bridge was built over the vehicle crossing with severe mobility restrictions (steep stairs, long and winding route). The pedestrian access from public transport to the checkpoint from the north (Ramallah direction) is unclear, and there have been cases of people, especially people with disabilities, who accidentally reached the vehicle crossing and were shot by the soldiers at the checkpoint. In the summer of 2021, work began on a new, sunken entrance road from Qalandiya that will lead directly to Road 443 towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, the runways of the old Atarot airport were demolished and infrastructure was prepared for a large bus terminal. (updated October 2021)
Tamar FleishmanJun-8-2025Qalandiya: Emptiness in public space
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